Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2012;7(2):e30707. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030707. Epub 2012 Feb 10.
To identify factors associated with infant growth up to 6 months, with a particular focus on maternal distress, and to explore the effect of ethnicity on any relation between maternal distress and infant growth.
Cohort study recruiting White and Pakistani women in the United Kingdom (UK). Infant growth was measured at birth and 6 months. Standard assessment of mental health (GHQ-28) was undertaken in pregnancy (26-28 weeks gestation) and 6 months postpartum. Modelling included social deprivation, ethnicity, and other known influences on infant growth such as maternal smoking and alcohol consumption.
Maternal distress improved markedly from pregnancy to 6 months postpartum. At both times Pakistani women had more somatic and depression symptoms than White women. Depression in pregnancy (GHQ subscale D) was associated with lower infant growth at 6 months. Self-reported social dysfunction in pregnancy (GHQ subscale C) was associated with lower gestational age.. Pakistani women reported higher GHQ scores during pregnancy associated with smaller infants at birth. They lived in areas of higher social deprivation, reported less alcohol consumption and smoking postnatally, all independent influences on growth at 6 months.
Maternal mental health in pregnancy is an independent influence on infant growth up to 6 months and is associated with ethnicity which was itself associated with deprivation in our sample. There is a complex relationship between symptoms of maternal distress, ethnicity, deprivation, health behaviours, and early infant growth. Measures should include both emotional and somatic symptoms and interventions to reduce risks of poor early growth need to include psychological and social components.
确定与婴儿 6 个月内生长相关的因素，特别关注产妇的痛苦，并探讨种族对产妇痛苦与婴儿生长之间任何关系的影响。
本队列研究在英国招募了白人及巴基斯坦裔女性。在婴儿出生和 6 个月时测量其生长情况。在妊娠（26-28 周）和产后 6 个月时进行标准心理健康评估（GHQ-28）。模型包括社会剥夺、种族以及其他已知影响婴儿生长的因素，如产妇吸烟和饮酒。
产妇的痛苦从妊娠到产后 6 个月显著改善。在这两个时间点，巴基斯坦裔女性的躯体和抑郁症状都比白人女性多。妊娠时的抑郁（GHQ 子量表 D）与 6 个月时婴儿生长较慢有关。妊娠时自我报告的社会功能障碍（GHQ 子量表 C）与较低的胎龄有关。巴基斯坦裔女性在妊娠期间报告的 GHQ 评分较高，与出生时婴儿较小有关。她们居住在社会剥夺程度较高的地区，产后报告的饮酒和吸烟较少，这些都是对 6 个月时生长的独立影响因素。
妊娠期间产妇的心理健康是婴儿 6 个月内生长的一个独立影响因素，并与种族有关，而种族本身与我们样本中的贫困有关。产妇痛苦、种族、贫困、健康行为和早期婴儿生长之间存在着复杂的关系。措施应包括情绪和躯体症状，减少不良早期生长风险的干预措施应包括心理和社会因素。
